STATE  MILITARY  ACADEMIES. 


ADDRESS 

DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 

CALLIOPEAN  SOCIETY 

OF  THE 

CITADEL  ACADEMY, 
CHARLESTON. 


BY   F.  W.   CAPERS,    A.  M. 


Charleston,  <S.  <£. 
TENHET  AND  CORLEY,  PRINTERS, 
48  Broad-Street. 

1846. 

Pamphlet  CMMon 
Duke  University  Library 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2013 


http://archive.org/details/statemilitaryacaOOcape 


ADDRESS. 


If  we  might  claim  for  any  subject  of  general  concern, 
that  it  should  rank  in  public  estimation  according  to  the 
value  of  the  interests  which  it  involves,  none  would 
challenge  a  more  careful  attention  than  Education. 

The  most  limited  experience  will  illustrate  its  influence 
over  individual  character ; — an  influence  so  great,  that 
there  is  little  of  what  is  noble  in  conception,  or  glorious  in 
achievement,  or  pure  and  inspiring,  or  vile  and  abominable 
in  passion,  that  may  not  derive  its  origin  or  strength  from 
this  source.  Its  power  over  national  prosperity  is  attested 
by  history,  in  results  of  startling  magnitude.  Under  all 
forms  of  government,  it  has  supplied  to  executive  autho- 
rity its  most  available  support,  or  certain  overthrow. 
Here,  we  may  observe  it,  elevating  the  condition  of  a 
people  ;  there,  riveting  upon  them  the  chains  of  error  and 
superstition ;  at  one  time,  kindling  and  quickening  the 
sense  of  national  oppression,  to  punish  misrule  in  revolu- 
tion ;  at  another,  blasting  every  bud  of  generous  and 
manly  sentiment  to  instil  the  precepts  of  passive  submis- 
sion to  tyrannical  sway ; — always  giving  tone  to  public 
sentiment,  controlling  the  prejudices,  and  shaping  the 
destinies  of  a  people. 

Hence,  that  intimate  affiliation  in  kind,  which  must 
ever  exist  between  different  forms  of  government,  and 
the  systems  of  education  practised  under  them.  This 
connection  is  rendered  less  obvious  in  modern  times,  by 
the  more  complex  machinery  of  government  and  the 
subtle  disguises  which  modern  legislation  often  assumes, 
but  in  the  history  of  the  past,  the  constitutional  pro- 
visions of  every  state  exhibit  some  favorite  scheme  of 


educational  policy,  designed  to  frame  the  national  charac- 
ter after  an  approved  model,  upheld  by  law.  While  we 
contrast  the  institutions  of  Lycurgus  and  of  Solon,  our 
minds  anticipate  the  opposite  characters  they  formed. 
We  expect  to  find  the  Spartan,  at  once  devoted  to  his 
country,  and  heartlessly  brutal  in  all  the  relations  of 
domestic  life ;  alike  capable  of  executing  the  horrid 
mandate  of  the  "  Cryptia,"  or  the  sacrifice  of  Thermo- 
pylae. We  expect  to  find  the  Athenian  polite,  humane, 
and  cultivated.  But  whether  we  admire  the  splendid 
galaxy  of  genius  and  excellence  which  was  Athens'  proud 
ornament,  or  trace  her  history  to  its  tragic  close,  when 
corruption  tainted  the  nation's  heart,  and  the  Roman 
soldier  trampled  the  garland  of  her  glory  under  his  feet, 
we  perceive  that  neither  her  institutions,  nor  her  policy, 
nor  her  freedom  are  ours.  They  lacked  that  great  con- 
trolling faith,  by  means  of  which  governments  have  been 
made  to  recognize  new  policies  and  man  to  learn  new 
duties.  The  Athenian  Socrates  saw  the  star  that  an- 
nounced its  coming  in  the  birth  of  Christ ;  and  could  his 
noble  heart  have  caught  the  full  import  of  those  prophetic 
rays,  though  the  hemlock  had  repaid  his  efforts  to  imbue 
the  minds  of  the  Athenian  youth  with  the  tenets  of  Chris- 
tianity, Paul  had  found  no  altar  "to  the  unknown  God," 
nor  half  ten  thousand  others,  in  the  streets  of  Athens, — 
but  in  its  stead  a  Christian  Church,  and  in  the  Socratic 
sect,  a  Christian  brotherhood. 

Christianity  itself,  although  deriving  its  origin  from  the 
teachings  and  the  cross  of  Christ,  has  been  perverted  from 
its  proper  ends,  to  subserve  the  vilest  purposes.  Early  in 
its  history,  vice,  ignorance  and  folly  conspired  to  extinguish 
this  beam  of  holy  light,  with  discordant  and  corrupting 
elements,  gathered  from  Pagan  ruins.  God  gave  it  ca- 
pacity to  live  and  burn  its  way  through  the  superincum- 
bent mass  ;  but  the  flame  emitted  from  the  papal  pinnacle 
of  its  high  abuse,  was  a  lurid,  uncertain  glare,  in  whose 
light  men  grew  mad,  and  passion,  thirsting  for  forbidden 
vengeance,  "  let  slip  the  dogs  of  war"  upon  Jerusalem,  or 
opened  the  flood-gates  of  persecution  at  home.  There 
was  heat  enough  in  one  stray  ray,  however,  to  fire  a  mine 
of  well  appointed  energies  in  the  heart  of  Luther,  from 


7 


whose  great  mission  the  mild  arid  genial  influences  of  a 
pure  Gospel  have  been  extended  throughout  Christen- 
dom,— overturning  spiritual  despotism,  and  diffusing  new 
views  of  human  responsibility.  Step  by  step,  in  gradual 
advance,  free  principles  have  gained  steady  progress, 
until,  in  "  the  land  shadowing  with  wings,"  freedom  reached 
her  full  maturity,  and  a  deed  of  inheritance  in  the  Decla- 
ration of  American  Independence.  From  the  spirit  of  its 
tenets ,  and  our  constitution,  where  sovereignty  is  vested  in 
the  people,  and  loyalty  lost  in  patriotism,  we  derive  that 
criterion  of  fitness,  by  which  every  feature  of  educational 
policy,  proposed,  or  practised,  among  us,  must  be  tested. 
Precedent  is  misapplied  in  argument  to  defend  whatever 
militates  against  it,  or  falls  short  of  its  requisitions, — for 
we  stand  confessedly,  "  the  first  experiment  of  self-govern- 
ment by  a  free  people,"  and  it  behooves  us  to  consult  our 
own  necessities  rather  than  the  dogmas  of  European  na- 
tions, whose  political  creeds  differ  in  nature  and  in  aim 
from  that  we  have  adopted. 

The  protection  of  our  institutions  is  with  the  people. 
They  hold  control  over  the  destinies  of  the  nation,  and 
must  be  suitably  educated  for  the  perfect  exercise  of  this 
high  prerogative  of  citizenship.  Nor  can  this  be  effected 
without  the  culture  of  "  the  whole  man,  with  all  his  facul- 
ties,— subjecting  his  senses,  his  understanding  and  his 
passions,  to  reason,  to  conscience,  and  the  evangelical 
laws  of  the  Christian  Revelation."  In  whatever  respect 
he  falls  short  of  this  degree  of  mental  and  moral  culture, 
just  in  that  proportion  is  he  disqualified  for  the  rank  of  a 
good  citizen. 

It  is  evident  that  results  so  important,  cannot  be  accom- 
plished by  unaided  individual  exertion.  It  is,  therefore, 
the  part  of  parental  care,  from  the  time  of  the  intellect's 
earliest  development  to  that  of  its  maturity, — to  regulate 
the  influences  about  him, — to  assist  the  early  essays  of 
judgment, — to  check  the  propensities  of  nature,  or  guide 
them  to  a  proper  channel, — to  infuse  the  generous  im- 
pulses of  patriotism,  and,  generally,  eliciting  the  latent 
principles  of  reason  and  conscience,  to  construct  upon 
them  the  basis  of  a  freeman's  character. 


8 


Bat  neither  reason  nor  humanity  will  exempt  the  State 
from  all  share  in  the  education  of  her  sons.  It  is  her 
part,  not  only  to  supply  the  needed  auxiliaries  of  schools 
and  colleges,  hut  to  bestow  beneficiary  instruction  within 
their  walls,  liberally,  that  the  means  of  acquiring  a  com- 
plete and  generous  education  may  be  within  the  reach  of 
the  humblest  citizen. 

It  is  the  part  of  each  individual  legislator  to  feel  as  the 
Prussian  counsellor  has  written,  "  that  in  every  poor  mail's 
son,  there  was  a  being  who  would  complain  of  him  before 
God,  if  he  did  not  provide  for  him  the  best  education 
possible" 

In  the  light  of  these  general  truths,  I  invite  your  atten- 
tion to  an  exposition  of  the  nature  and  tendencies  of  that 
system  of  education  which  South  Carolina  has  authorized 
in  the  establishment  of  her  State  Military  Academies. 
And  where  could  I  more  appropriately  maintain  their 
accordance  with  the  spirit  of  freedom,  than  in  the  First 
Annual  Address  before  a  Society  of  Cadets. 

The  question,  whether  the  policy  which  has  ordained 
the  use  of  these  Academies,  for  the  protection  of  the 
State  Arsenals,  is  wise  or  not,  is  irrelevant  to  my  purpose. 
I  make  bold  to  say,  that  its  practicability  is  no  longer  a 
matter  of  experiment.  These  duties  have  been  faithfully 
performed  ;  and  it  certainly  offers  no  objection  to  the  ma- 
terial of  which  the  guard  is  composed,  that  the  place  of  com- 
mon soldiers  is  supplied  by  young  men  of  ingenuous  dis- 
position— the  sons  and  brothers  of  our  fellow  citizens.  My 
remarks  upon  the  present  occasion,  however,  have  more 
to  do  with  the  education  al  provisions  of  these  Academies. 
If  we  notice  differences  between  the  system  they  illustrate, 
and  others  more  usually  adopted,  it  becomes  a  matter  of 
the  gravest  import,  to  know  what  they  are,  and  why  they 
have  been  authorized.  Yet,  it  is  often  mortifying  to  dis- 
cover, that,  whilst  that  feature  in  their  regulations,  which 
enjoins  the  introduction  of  military  discipline,  and  instruc- 
tion in  military  affairs,  is  generally  known,  public  informa- 
tion has  accredited  to  them  little  else.  The  instructions  in 
Mathematical  and  Physical  Science,  embracing  a  course 


9 


more  extensive  than  that  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Institu- 
tions of  the  nation, — recitations  and  lectures,  upon  the 
identical  texts  of  our  best  universities,  in  History,  Belles- 
Lettres,  and  Metaphysics, — all  are  overlooked,  and  the 
mere  drill  and  uniform  made  to  constitute  the  "  ultima  thule" 
of  our  educational  ambition.  Had  such  opinions  rested  on 
a  basis  of  truth,  I  should  have  felt  myself  bound,  by  every 
sense  of  patriotic  duty,  to  meet  their  discussion  with 
opposition,  rather  than  the  support  which,  however  feebly, 
is  now  heartily  offered. 

The  prominent  importance  given  to  Mathematical  and 
Physical  Science,  in  the  course  of  studies  pursued  at  these 
Academies,  is  authorized,  alike  by  their  power  as  an  agent 
in  mental  culture  and  their  bearing  upon  the  wants  of  life. 

The  rudiments  of  Mathematics  may  be  taught  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  educate  the  intellectual  faculties,  at  an 
earlier  age  than  those  of  any  other  science.  The  idea  of 
number  is  among  the  first  which  the  mind  conceives,  and 
in  supplying  a  symbol  to  express  it,  which  may  be  done 
at  a  very  tender  age,  this  mental  training  is  begun.  The 
child  must  observe  and  compare  these  symbols  before  he 
apprehends  their  meaning  and  pronounces  their  name. 
The  difference  in  value  of  the  same  symbol,  according  to 
position,  necessitates  the  same  intellectual  process,  as  that 
by  which  the  mind  achieves  a  just  discrimination  between 
the  varying  conditions  of  any  subject  of  inquiry,  before 
judgment.  This  exercise,  has  furnished  at  once  the  alpha- 
bet of  calculation  and  of  logic.  The  whole  art  of  reason- 
ing, says  "  Lavoisier,"  is  but  a  language  well  arranged,  and 
Algebra  the  most  perfect.  Nor  has  there  ever  been  a 
careful  student  of  its  methods,  who  did  not  approve  the 
sentiment.  How  simple,  yet  how  powerful  its  notation  ! 
mark  in  what  strict  analogy  with  its  laws  the  general  con- 
struction of  language  follows, — its  symbols  combined  to 
form  words  in  the  expressions  which  represent  quantity, 
and  these  into  sentences  expressing  equality  or  the  con- 
trary in  every  degree, — its  "  rules"  so  many  deductions 
of  reason,  and  its  "  examples"  the  illustrations  of  their 
truth. 

The  study  of  Geometry  opens  the  widest  field  for  this 
drill  in  the  art  of  reasoning.    The  young  student  is  as- 

,  %2 


10 


sured  at  every  step,  as  lie  passes  from  judgment  to  judg- 
ment through  the  complete  argument,  and  is  guarded  by 
habit  against  hasty  deductions,  while  its  accurate  phrase- 
ology, exhibits  the  most  forcible  illustration  of  the  power 
and  compass  of  language.  No  one  can  comprehend,  in 
all  the  fullness  of  their  import,  the  simplest  definitions  of 
Geometry,  without  such  an  exercise  in  precision  of  ex- 
pression as  is  met  with  no  where  else. 

But  the  study  of  Mathematics  is  especially  valuable  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  power  of  abstraction, — that  power 
by  means  of  which  the  understanding  is  enabled  to  sepa- 
rate the  qualities  or  attributes  of  objects,  and  which, 
therefore,  forms  the  ground-work  of  classification.  It  is 
a  mistake,  often  made,  to  suppose  this  process  unduly 
severe.  The  infant  employs  it  ,untaught.  It  is  natural  to 
man,  as  an  intellectual  being,  and  equally  capable  of  culti- 
vation with  any  other.  Its  office  is  clearly  discerned  in 
every  process  of  the  mind.  Without  it  all  knowledge  is 
resolved  into  its  original  elements,  and  confined  to  indi- 
vidual things.  For  how  shall  we  determine  "  the  agree- 
ment or  disagreement  of  our  ideas,"  in  any  valuable  sense, 
without  such  acquaintance  with  their  attributes  or  qualities 
as  this  operation  of  the  mind  alone,  can  give.  Where, 
beside,  can  the  imagination  procure  material  for  the 
splendid  structures  of  the  Arts, — in  poetry,  painting,  mu- 
sic or  achitecture, — or  memory  receive  from  its  methods 
of  classification— from  its  power,  as  a  function  of  intel- 
lect, to  deduce  general  truths  from  particular  ideas, — that 
systematic  and  philosophical  arrangement  of  facts,  which 
links  them  together  by  affiliation  in  kind,  according  to  true 
and  important  relations. 

These  functions  of  the  mind,  provide  the  only  foundation 
of  Belles-Lettres  scholarship,  in  that  habit  of  analysis, 
which  is  reason's  sense  of  vision  in  all  the  creative  efforts 
of  the  intellect.  Pope  says,  he  lisped  in  numbers, — yet, 
many  a  blotted  manuscript  attests  the  labor  he  bestowed 
upon  his  noblest  performances.  And  Byron — the  bard 
whose  soul  was  fire — wrote  no  stanza  of  Childe  Harold 
that  was  not  interlined.  Why  should  genius  feel  such 
uncertainty  in  giving  utterance  to  conceptions  of  power, 
but  for  the  fact  that  the  most  exquisite  sentiment,  the 


1 1 


sublimest  imagery, — the  whole  array  of  figurative  lan- 
guage, are  the  subjects  of  its  application,  equally  with  the 
most  elaborate  deductions  of  reason.  Without  it,  grace, 
delicacy,  splendor,  have  no  fitness,  no  appreciable  sub- 
stance in  the  arts.  Unchecked  by  this  curb  of  criticism, 
imagination  cannot  perform  her  perfect  office,  but  strays 
away  from  truth,  in  aimless  ramblings,  or  if  called  into 
service,  by  subjects  of  stirring  thought,  presents,  invaria- 
bly, a  ragged  mass  of  finery,  rudely  torn  from  many 
splendid  garments  in  memory's  store-house,  but  worthless 
for  any  purpose  of  chaste  adorning. 

Painting  and  Sculpture  cannot  attain  even  a  decent 
respectability  among  the  Arts  without  the  influence  of 
analysis  upon  the  artist's  taste.  Without  it  the  games  of 
Palaestra  had  furnished  no  ideal  of  beauty,  grace  or  gran- 
deur to  the  Greek, — no  such  names  to  glory,  as  those  of 
Phidias,  Praxitiles,  Glycon,  Zeuxis,  Apelles,  and  the  whole 
catalogue  of  those  who  adorned  the  age  of  Pericles, — no 
such  offspring  to  Grecian  genius,  as  the  Antinous,  or  the 
Cnidian  Venus, — the  Farnesian  Hercules  or  the  Dying 
Gladiator, — no  such  topics  for  the  pen  of  Pliny,  as  the 
Demon  of  Athens  by  Parhasius, — at  once  fickle,  irascible, 
unjust,  inconstant,  yet  placable  and  compassionate,  vain- 
glorious, yet  humble,  brave,  yet  cowardly. 

In  this  habit,  we  observe  the  best  preparation  for  suc- 
cessful study  in  the  science  of  mind  and  matter.  Indeed, 
these  sciences  owe  to  its  agency,  in  the  most  remarka- 
ble degree,  whatever  advance  they  have  made  beyond 
the  merest  initials  of  knowledge.  By  its  light,  the  laba- 
rinthal  intricacies  of  the  human  intellect,  were  threaded, 
until  successive  charts  of  exploration  laid  bare  its  nature 
and  supplied  material  for  a  classification  of  its  functions 
and  their  positive  description.  By  its  light,  the  inmost 
caverns  of  the  human  heart  were  searched, — the  motives 
of  action  and  the  power  of  prejudice  and  passion  un- 
masked,— that  man  might  know  himself. 

If  we  look  to  the  material  world,  how  vast  the  number 
of  its  achievements  !  How  sublime  their  character !  By 
its  aid,  we  see  Astronomy  escape  from  the  meshes  of  the 
Ptolemaic  net,  and  rise  in  true  majesty  to  Heaven, — 
divesting  its  starry  orbs  of  that  dark  mantle  of  mystery 


12 


and  magic,  in  which  astrology  had  robed  them,  and  in 
one  single,  simple  principle,  revealing  the  law  that  binds 
her  circling  spheres  in  an  harmonious  system.  By  its 
aid,  Geology  has  abandoned  the  vain  and  often  impious 
dogmas  of  the  Cosmogonists, — and  limiting  her  inves- 
tiagtions  to  the  "  Crust"  of  the  earth,  has  combined  the 
data  which  it  furnishes  in  a  noble  science, — disclosing  that 
vast  series  of  created  beings  whose  organic  remains  lie 
imbedded  in  strata  miles  beneath  our  feet. 

Mathematical  science  is  of  prime  educational  import- 
ance, also, — by  reason  of  the  direct  bearing  it  has  upon 
the  wants  of  practical  life.  Possessing  Algebra,  the  Geo- 
metries, Trigonometries,  and  the  Calculus,  Mechanical 
Philosophy  and  Astronomy,  are  within  the  student's 
grasp,  not  in  the  profitless  sense  of  a.  mere  collection  of 
phrases — (profitless  to  practical  life,  although  they  em- 
body facts,)  but  because  of  his  power  to  apply  their  prin- 
ciples, whenever  pleasure  or  necessity  demand.  He  is 
able  to  delineate  the  Topography  of  a  country  and  run 
its  bounding  lines,  and  appropriates  mechanical  agents  in 
construction,  with  a  confidence  in  their  capacity  to  bring 
about  required  results,  which  experience  does  not  weaken. 
The  heavens  become  his  familiar  home.  He  names  their 
constellations,  not  from  mere  memory,  but  because  of 
reason,  to  whose  far-seeing  eye  they  have  provided  ce- 
lestial points  of  observation,  from  which  it  has  descried 
the  comet  in  the  azure  depths  of  infinite  space, — marked 
the  path  of  its  progress  across  the  orbit  of  the  spheres, 
which  roll  beneath  his  view,  called  its  name,  and  prophe- 
sied its  periods. 

In  professional  life,  all  sciences  are  useful,  but  these 
supply  the  elements  of  success  in  an  extraordinary  degree. 
Is  the  man  a  Lawyer  ?  Apart  from  the  influence  of  their 
elements  upon  his  mind — the  merits  of  a  thousand  cases 
depend  upon  their  principles.  Is  he  a  Physician  ?  How 
shall  he  hold,  with  credit  to  himself,  that  position  of  emi- 
nence in  his  profession,  which  every  one  should  strive  to 
attain, — how  shall  he  attain  it,  without  the  aid  of  Physical 
Science  ?  The  skeleton  of  the  human  frame,  "  the  per- 
fect work  of  an  unerring  engineer,"  is  the  concentration 
of  all  the  mechanical  principles  developed  in  nature  about 


13 


us.  The  human  l^ody,  alive,  demands  the  laws  of  lluidin  , 
for  the  comprehension  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood  ; 
the  laws  of  Pneumatics,  Acoustics  and  Optics,  to  under- 
stand the  action  of  the  lungs  in  respiration,  in  utterance, 
or  the  phenomena  of  light  and  hearing;  while  Chemistry, 
Mineralogy  and  Botany,  are  elements  so  essential  in  the 
science  of  Medicine,  that  ignorance  of  their  principles  is 
ruin,  without  the  office  of  the  friendly  label.  Is  he  an 
Agriculturist, — a  Planter  or  Farmer  ?  They  unfold  the 
nature  of  his  soil, — the  quality  of  manures,  and  their 
adaptation  to  the  culture  of  his  grain, — the  influence  of 
temperature  and  climate,  and  varying  seasons  upon  the 
objects  of  his  daily  toil, — the  crops  of  his  field.  And 
shall  the  Clergyman,  vested  with  the  high  ministrations  of 
his  holy  office,  prefer  to  neglect  these  sciences ;  when, 
without  them,  he  may  not  cope  with  his  infidel  adversary, 
or  wrest  from  his  grasp  those  engines  of  specious  argu- 
ment by  which  his  faith  is  assailed  ?  No  !  Let  him  have 
them,  and,  beside  the  power  of  argument,  his  spirit  shall 
catch  a  holier  inspiration,  from  a  juster  view  of  the  ma- 
jesty of  God,  whose  spirit,  in  the  beginning,  moved  on 
chaos,  to  create  the  heavens  and  the  earth. 

Since,  therefore,  Mathematical  and  Physical  Science 
not  only  afford  a  noble  means  of  mental  training,  but  are 
most  intimately  associated  with  the  wants  of  practical  life, 
the  prominent  importance  given  them,  in  this  system  of 
education,  is  amply  justified. 

But  why  reject  the  dead  languages  ?  Have  you  no 
veneration  for  the  voices  of  Cicero  and  Demosthenes  ? 
Far  from  it.  We  honor  their  tones,  but  if  mere  reve- 
rence for  the  past  must  determine  our  educational  policy, 
the  voices  of  the  Caliphs  demand  high  consideration. 

We  do  not  forget  the  glories  of  the  past,  however,  be- 
cause we  feel  the  necessities  of  the  present.  In  the 
midst  of  galvanic  fires  and  gaseous  fumes  and  subtle 
agencies  of  Mechanism  and  Magnetism,  we  must  be 
pardoned  for  the  wish  to  conquer  and  appropriate  these, 
before  we  amuse  ourselves  with  the  Classic  Microscope. 

There  was  a  time,  when  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages 
could  not  be  considered  as  ornamental  branches  of  Edu- 


14 


cation  only,  but  were  a  necessary  precursor  to  the 
attainment  of  every  other  knowledge.  Then,  man's  very 
duties  to  his  fellow  and  his  God,  were  hid  in  Latin  books? 
to  be  dolled  out  in  petty  driblings  from  the  mouths  of  lord- 
ly dignitaries, — but  that  day  has  passed.  Trembling  be- 
fore the  mandate,  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  or 
through  policy  or  party  zeal,  an  English  sovereign  broke 
down  this  barrier, — this  Egyptian  barrier, — between  the 
people  and  Education,  to  give  God's  message  to  his  sub- 
jects. Soon  after,  the  courtly  prerogatives  of  Education 
were  extended  to  a  favored  few,  and  the  wealthy  invited 
to  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  Now,  the  spirit  of  liberty  has 
razed  that  barrier  to  its  foundation,  giving  to  the  art 
of  Printing  its  busiest  employ  in  setting  English  type. 
Not  only  are  Bacon,  Locke  and  Newton,  read  in  English, 
but  every  author  of  the  Augustan  age, — and  we  prefer  to 
graft  the  beauty  or  the  strength  of  these  dead  tongues 
upon  our  living  stem,  rather  than  make  the  language  we 
speak,  a  shoot  from  the  old  Latin  stock.  Yet  we  must  ac- 
cord to  them  high  rank  as  instruments  of  mental  culture. 
There  are  ample  means  within  their  reach  of  educing 
every  function  of  the  mind.  The  boy  who  daily  cons  his 
grammar  and  lexicon,  to  reveal  the  hidden  meaning  of  his 
text,  has  given  to  memory  and  reason,  useful  exercise,  and 
is  advancing  towards  that  habit  of  analysis  which  exerts 
so  controlling  an  influence  on  the  destiny  of  man.  There 
is  abundant  source  of  moral  profit  in  the  noble  instances 
of  fortitude,  justice,  humanity,  benevolence,  filial  piety 
or  patriotic  devotion,  which  its  page  unfolds ;  while,  with 
a  lure  of  exquisite  beauty,  its  muse  of  song  entices  the 
imagination  away  from  her  mental  nest,  upon  the  classic 
flight.  But  the  moral  lesson  has  been  learned  before, 
upon  a  father's  knee,  and  has  its  daily  illustrations  in  life 
about  him ;  the  habit  of  analysis  has  its  best  training  in 
the  Mathematics,  and  the  imagination  soars  with  English 
wings  upon  a  bolder,  wider,  loftier  flight  than  Greek  or 
Latin  pinion  ever  dared. 

Since  Isaiah  prophesied,  no  age  of  the  world  has  pro- 
duced an  intellectual  majesty  more  commanding,  a  dignity 
and  grandeur  more  entirely  unparalleled  than  is  exhibited 


1.-) 


in  the  writings  of  Milton  and  Shakspeare.  In  what  phase 
of  view  the  ancient  Hades  is  the  equal  of  Milton's  Hell 
and  Paradise,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover.  44  The  terrible" 
has  no  portraiture  like  that  of  Satan's  doom,  or  his  inter- 
view with  "  the  snaky  sorceress"  that  guarded  hell-gate, 
while  the  whole  work  abounds  in  passages  of  sublime  con- 
ception, far  beyond  the  reach  of  any  other  pen.  There 
is  no  need  of  such  caution  as  Blair  gives  to  the  reader  of 
Homer,  when  he  requires  him  to  "  divest  himself  of  our 
modern  ideas  of  dignity  and  refinement ;  to  reckon  upon 
finding  characters  and  manners  that  retain  a  considerable 
tincture  of  the  savage  state  ;  moral  ideas  as  yet  imper- 
fectly formed,  and  the  appetites  and  passions  of  men 
brought  under  none  of  those  restraints,  to  which,  in  a 
more  advanced  state  of  society,  they  are  accustomed ; 
but  bodily  strength  prized  as  one  of  the  chief  heroic  en- 
dowments ;  the  preparing  of  a  meal  and  the  appeasing  of 
hunger,  described  as  very  interesting  objects,  and  the 
hemes  boasting  of  themselves  openly,  and  glorying  very 
indecently  over  their  fallen  enemies." 

Here  it  is,  that  we  discover  the  principal  source  of  su- 
periority in  the  modern  over  the  ancient  poets.  The 
ancients  accomplished  all  that  the  most  exalted  genius 
could,  under  the  circumstances  of  their  lives.  Nature, 
about  them,  supplied  the  richest  material  for  the  combina- 
tions of  fancy  and  the  imagination  in  descriptive  poetry, 
and  they  attained  supreme  excellence  in  all  that  relates  to 
physical  qualities  and  attributes  ; — but,  nature  above  them, 
branded  with  pagan  folly,  gave  no  such  scope  for  reflec- 
tion as  Christian  science  has  disclosed.  The  brightest 
glow  of  poetic  fire  failed  to  sublime  from  their  heaven 
itself,  "  wickedness,  covetousness,  maliciousness,  envyr 
debate,  deceit,  malignity,  lust,"  and  all  the  host  of  "vile 
affections"  that  reigned  with  Jove  in  Olympus, — and  on 
earth,  "  changed  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God,  into 
an  image  made  like  to  corruptible  man."  The  future, 
therefore,  shed  no  moral  radiance  on  the  efforts  of  ge- 
nius,— spread  no  such  field  of  contemplation,  as  that  which 
grasps  the  entire  destiny  of  man, — the  beauty  and  glory 
and  power  of  that  faith  by  which  the  feeblest  achieve 
victory  over  the  terrors  of  death,  to  di*>  as 


16 

"  Sels  tiie  morning  star, 

Winch  goes  not  down  behind  the  darkened  west, 
Nor  hides,  obscured,  amid  the  tempests  of  the  sky, 
But  melts  away  into  the  light  of  heaven." 

Paul  quoted  "Cleanthes,"  on  Mars  Hill,  in  the  words, 
"  For  ye  also  are  his  offspring  ;"  but,  think  you,  the  poet's 
conceptions  of  the  phrase  were  those  of  Paul?  Could 
Cleanthes  have  followed  him  through  that  splendid  argu- 
ment addressed  to  the  Corinthians,  which  the  Apostle 
concludes  in  such  matchless  eloquence  ? — No  more  than 
the  hymn  to  Jupiter  gave  one  new  idea  to  his  view,  or 
added  anything  to  the  vigor  of  his  expression. 

As  far  as  the  abstract  power  of  language  is  concerned, 
analysis  confirms  the  opinion  of  Sheridan,  that  the  English, 
uniting  the  beauty  of  the  Latin  with  the  strength  of  the 
Modern  German,  is  the  equal  of  the  ancient  Greek,  and 
superior  to  all  other  tongues, — ancient  or  modern.  Elo- 
quence, therefore,  has  no  trammel  on  her  spirit  by  the  re- 
striction of  her  choice  to  the  one  language.  She  can  find 
in  the  Anglo-Saxon  basis  all  she  needs  of  strength,  and  in 
appropriated  derivatives,  all  she  wants  of  ornament ; — 
but  in  her  noblest  essays,  the  origin  of  words  is  farthest 
from  her  consideration.  The  orator  asks  only  to  feel 
their  fitness  to  convey  the  sense  he  intends.  "Thoughts 
that  breathe"  will  find  utterance  in  "words  that  burn." 

But  it  may  be  asked, — Are  not  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages  necessary  to  professional  life  ? — Useful,  they  un- 
doubtedly are,  but  not  necessary.  The  spirit  of  Law  and 
the  great  principles  of  Law,  which  occupy  by  far  the 
greater  portion  of  a  Lawyer's  attention,  are  independent 
of  any  set  form  of  words.  In  Medicine,  nomenclature  pos- 
sesses a  higher  degree  of  importance, — but  the  wants  of 
the  age  have  at  last  begun  the  abolition  of  any  other  than 
English  phraseology,  even  in  England.  There,  Chem- 
istry has  received  new  terms,  and  by  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment, Medical  prescriptions,  and  the  Druggist's  labels 
are  required  to  be  written  in  English, — and  if  we  look  to 
the  rest  of  the  world, — all  nations,  except  our  own,  have 
rendered  the  -nomenclature  of  science  intelligible  to  a 
student  in  his  vernacular  tongue.  Why,  then,  should  we 
copy  British  forma  and  British  policy,  against  the  neces- 
sities of  life  ? 


17 


The  Dead  Languages  are  rejected  under  this  system, 
furthermore,  because,  in  view  of  practical  life,  the  time  and 
labor  bestowed  upon  them  is  incommensurate  with  the  re- 
sults which  they  accomplish,  under  favorable  circumstan- 
ces,— while  their  highest  uses  are  lost  in  at  least  an  equal 
number  of  cases.  Between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  fifteen, 
a  period  of  life  rich  in  the  capacity  of  a  virgin  soil, — their 
study  most  frequently  excludes  all  other  subjects  from  a 
suitable  attention,  without  reflecting  any  valuable  influence 
upon  the  taste  or  imagination  of  the  student.  He  is  ac- 
customed to  expect  no  other  reward  for  the  industrious 
plodding  with  which  he  has  converted  some  fifty  or  sixty 
glorious  lines  of  Virgil  or  Xenophon  into  barbarous 
English,  than  the  approbation  of  his  teacher,  who  con- 
cludes,— justly  enough,  perhaps, — that  a  criticism  upon 
the  style  or  sentiment  of  the  text  would  not  be  apprecia- 
ted, and  requires  nothing  from  him  beyond  the  grammati- 
cal construction  of  a  sentence.  In  process  of  time,  this 
disregard  to  the  purity,  eloquence  or  grace  of  the  author, 
becomes  a  habit,  and  so  fixed,  that  his  Professor  at  Col- 
lege, failing  to  overcome  its  influence,  abandons  in  despair 
the  only  luxury  of  his  labors,  and  leaves  to  the  depart- 
ment of  English  Literature,  the  province  of  teaching  this 
classical  student,  what  it  is  that  constitutes  the  pure  Hel- 
lenism of  Demosthenes,  or  the  chaste  Latinity  of  Cicero. 
Alas,  for  the  value  of  his  diploma  if  Science  has  shared 
a  similar  fate  ! 

But  there  is  still  other  ground  for  its  rejection.  The 
classic  toll  most  generally  required  at  our  collegiate  insti- 
tutions, before  matriculation,  offers  a  formidable  obstacle 
to  the  diffusion  of  education  among  the  poorer  classes  of 
the  people.  I  do  not  like  this  toll,  which  bars  the  col- 
lege doors  against  the  poor  man's  son,  if  he  cannot  pay  it, 
though  genius  beam  from  every  feature  of  his  face.  We 
should  have  shaken  it  off  when  we  annulled  the  rest  of 
Great  Britain's  taxes,  upon  the  mass  for  the  benefit  of  a 
privileged  few.  In  the  disciplinary  code  of  the  Virginia 
University,  Jefferson  laid  down  the  true  Republican  policy, 
when  he  allowed  to  the  parent  or  guardian  of  every  stu- 
dent, a  choice  among  the  subjects  of  study.  It  must  be 
conceded,  however,  that  the  operation  of  this  open  svs- 
3 


18 


tern  in  colleges  is  connected  with  many  disadvantages. 
The  arrangement  of  classes,  and  the  requisitions  of  the 
course  suppose  the  Latin  basis,  whether  it  exists  or  not, 
and  seldom  furnish  to  the  student  of  science,  sufficient 
regular  employ ;  nor  is  the  standard  generally  adapted 
to  his  particular  necessities,  in  view  of  the  practical  ap- 
plication of  his  knowledge  in  life ;  and  hence  he  returns 
to  his  farm,  or  his  merchandize,  or  his  trade, — although 
with  some  valuable  impress  upon  the  character  of  his 
mind, — certainly  with  no  material  ready  for  immediate 
use,  and  tending  to  make  him  either  a  better  farmer  or 
tradesman,  or  a  better  man,  often,  with  no  counterpoise 
in  the  gentleness  of  his  heart,  to  the  indolence  which  he 
has  contracted  in  a  partial  course,  amidst  the  enticements 
to  dissipation  every  where  about  him.  His  education  fits 
him  for  no  phase  in  life,  and  he  is  ridiculous  in  all.  Re- 
sponsible for  science,  in  all  its  departments,  while  he 
extols  the  Grecian  orders,  he  guesses  at  the  dimensions 
of  a  Grecian  column  or  the  perspective  of  a  Grecian  front. 
A  long  farewell  to  Bridge,  or  Bank,  or  Culvert,  he  con- 
structs !  The  very  title  to  his  lands  depends  upon  a  plat 
whose  lines  he  cannot  verify.  He  lives,  without  an  aim 
in  living,  or  if  he  has  ambition,  with  vague  notions  of  the 
means  by  which  he  will  attain  his  end, — trusting  rather  to 
some  trick  of  fancied  genius  to  place  him  on  the  pinnacle 
of  his  hopes,  than  to  the  muscle  of  intellectual  effort. 
Bewildered  by  the  blaze  of  scientific  discovery  which 
flashes  from  a  thousand  points  of  eminence  above  him, — 
he  is  the  constant  dupe  of  "  silly  notions,"  until  a  bitter 
experience  has  pointed  out  his  error  and  left  him  late  in 
life  to  renew  the  studies  of  his  boyhood ;  one  item  more 
in  the  daily  proof  that  the  assemblage  of  young  men  to 
live  together  in  college  buildings,  without  continual  em- 
ployment, is  prejudicial  to  sound  republican  education  and 
good  morals. 

Contemplate  his  case,  and  that  system  of  education 
which  I  advocate,  and  if  their  is  any  developement  in  the 
one  for  which  you  do  not  find  a  complete  preventive  in 
the  other,  it  will  be  discovered  in  military  organization ; — 
a  most  powerful  auxiliary  in  moral,  intellectual  and  physical 
education. 


19 


A  high  state  of  health  is  a  necessary  consequence  upon 
the  perfect  cleanliness,  the  regular  habits,  and  continual 
exercise,  which  the  requisitions  of  a  Military  Academy 
uniformly  demands.  At  dawn  of  day,  the  stirring  notes 
of  the  reveillie,  arouse  its  inmates  to  duty.  In  self-de- 
fence the  signal  must  be  obeyed ; — for  the  Orderly  of  the 
week  is  seconding  its  summons,  and  the  Sergeant  is  pre- 
pared to  note  the  student's  absence  from  the  roll-call  and 
the  morning  prayers.  Should  these  recollections  fail  to 
start  him,  a  new  doze  has  scarcely  acquired  stealthy 
possession  of  his  senses,  before  the  everlasting  "  officer 
of  the  day,"  is  at  the  sleeper's  side  with  his  formal  "Are 
you  sick,  sir"  and  the  odious  book  and  pencil, which  con- 
signs him  to  the  recitation-room,  or  the  hospital.  Before 
the  sun  has  risen,  every  bed  is  made,  rolled  and  strapped ; 
every  chair,  brush,  coat  and  cap,  is  in  its  place,  and  all 
made  ready  for  "  inspection."  Now,  the  day's  duties 
begin,  and  he  goes  to  their  discharge  most  cheerily.  Who 
mopes,  or  talks  of  headache,  that  puts  out  his  light  at  nine 
and  rises  at  daybreak.  The  ball-play,  the  drill,  the  con- 
stant marches,  short,  but  always  quick,  to  the  mess,  the 
recitation  or  parade,  keep  his  blood  in  healthy  circulation, 
and  expand  the  muscles  of  his  body,  while  the  exactions 
of  tactics  shape  their  development,  and  defy  a  downcast 
look  or  a  round  shoulder. 

Has  the  "  study-call"  sounded  ?  The  strictest  silence 
must  be  observed,  and  the  Cadet  must  be  in  his  room, 
and  at  his  table  with  his  books  by  his  side,  for  "  sentinel." 
and  "  sergeant,"  and  Professor,  are  all  on  duty  to  remind 
him  of  his  fault,  or  compel  the  observance  of  rule  from 
the  refractory. 

But,  it  is  in  moral  education,  that  we  discover  the 
highest  excellence  of  military  organization.  It  stands  to 
moral  lectures,  in  place  of  illustrative  example.  From 
the  commandant  of  the  corps,  to  the  last  private  on  the 
roll,  each  feels  a  common  responsibility,  of  which  none 
may  divest  himself,  while  he  holds  office  or  wears  the  uni- 
form. The  interest  of  the  whole  body,  is  the  particular 
concern  of  every  individual  member,  and  hence  the  una- 
nimity with  which  all — officer  and  student  alike — accord 


20 


obedience  to  the  exact  requirements  of  military  discipline. 
It  is  not  one's  personal  friend  or  foe,  who  speaks,  when 
an  authorized  order  is  given,  but  his  fellow, — cadet  who 
commands  as  he  obeys,  in  the  discharge  of  established 
duty,  which  neither  may  violate  without  offence  to  the 
honor  of  the  corps.  Through  this  principle,  a  habit  of 
self-restriction  is  established,  in  all  his  ^military  duties. 
Notice  a  sentinel  on  post.  For  two  long  hours  he  must 
walk  that  lonely  round.  The  stillness  of  midnight  is  about 
him,  and  tired  of  his  tedious  task,  down  goes  the  musket 
and  weary  nature  seems  to  sleep.  But  does  he  sleep  ? 
Go,  cross  the  path  of  his  tour,  and  you  will  meet  a 
different  fortune  than  has  been  my  lot,  if  his  unexpected 
challenge  and  the  quick  sequel  of  a  levelled  bayonet,  does 
not  prove  that  he  is  still  awake.  A  trust  has  been  reposed 
in  him,  which  his  reputation  compels  him  to  respect,  lest, 
through  his  default,  the  honor  of  his  corps  should  lose 
some  rose  from  its  chaplet ;  and  in  storm  and  night,  in 
summer  and  winter,  he  is  faithful  to  duty  under  its  control, 
and  feels  a  pride  in  self  restriction  for  its  sake. 

Military  discipline  is  valuable,  furthermore,  by  reason 
of  the  security  it  affords  against  idle  and  dissolute  habits. 

It  is  prejudicial  to  good  morals,  that  young  men  should 
live  without  restraint,  or  pass  a  moment  unprotected  by 
some  check  to  youthful  ardor — some  corrective  to  temp- 
tation. Many  a  father  has  sent  his  son  from  the  parental 
roof,  noble,  industrious  and  energetic,  to  acquire  an  edu- 
cation which  has  proved  the  curse  of  his  life,  because  of 
this  deficiency, — one,  which  is  fully  met  in  the  regulations 
of  a  Military  Academy.  For,  if  it  is  unmilitary  that  any 
individual  should  leave  its  boundaries  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  officer  of  guard, — whose  business  it  is  to 
note  the  time  of  leaving  and  the  time  of  return, — and 
these  regulations  control  the  student's  conduct  otherwise, 
as  I  have  endeavored  to  exhibit,  I  hazard  nothing  in  the  as- 
sertion that  the  introduction  of  military  discipline  into  any 
institution  of  learning,  where  youth  are  collected  in  masses, 
and  live  in  Commons,  would  tend  to  obviate  such  conse- 
quences, and  supply  a  moral  power,  to  School  and  Col- 
lege government,  which  could  not  fail  to  send  out  from 


21 


their  halls  a  greater  number  of  good  men  and  accom- 
plished graduates. 

The  objection  sometimes  urged  against  Military  organi- 
zation, that  it  begets  an  undue  Military  spirit,  and  a  dis- 
taste for  any  other  than  Military  occupation,  is  founded 
in  its  abuse,  and  applies,  least  of  all,  to  State  institutions. 
The  Cadet  comes  from  the  people  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  acquiring  such  an  education  as  will  best  qualify 
him  to  serve  his  country  and  himself  in  any  avocation  of 
life  to  which  his  inclination  may  lead  him.  He  knows 
before  matriculation  that  his  diploma  will  give  no  military 
employment,  and  returns  to  the  people,  expecting  prefer- 
ment at  no  other  hands.  Such  military  spirit  as  would 
lead  him  to  accept  office  after  graduation,  is  most  care- 
fully cherished,  that  the  State  may  receive  the  benefit  of 
his  knowledge,  in  the  elevated  character  of  her  militia. 
Surely  patriotism  will  approve  any  efforts  consistent 
with  the  spirit  of  Republicanism,  which  have  this  object 
in  view. 

And  now,  let  me  ask,  in  what  respect  does  this  system 
of  education  conflict  with  the  genius  of  our  government  ? 
Does  it  offend  because  of  popular  enlightenment  ?  Its 
doors  are  open  to  all,  free  of  any  tax  beside  a  capacity  to 
learn.  Because  of  society?  Self-restriction  for  duty's 
sake,  and  a  high  sense  of  common  responsibility  is  daily 
habit  under  its  laws.  Because  of  science  and  literature  ? 
Its  course  of  studies  is  nearly  that  of  West  Point. 

If  it  must  engender  servile  emotions  in  the  breasts 
of  those  who  are  subject  to  its  influence,  making  them 
willing  instruments  in  ambitious  hands  to  rear  an  odious 
despotism  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State ; 
if  it  has  robbed  the  Cadet  of  his  Sabbath,  and  his  Bible, 
and  his  God,  to  make  a  Spartan  soul  under  military  disci- 
pline ; — then  away  with  it,  forever,  from  the  borders  of 
the  land.  But  let  not  the  State  mistrust  it  unadvisedly. 
Let  her  officers  be  faithful  to  their  trust,  and  she  need  not 
fear  its  influence  over  her  sons.  Time  cannot  fail  to 
prove  it  a  strong  bulwark  of  defence,  and  a  lasting  honor. 


22 


Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Society  : 

It  was  my  design, — after  having  discharged  the  duty 
which  your  partiality  had  assigned  me, — to  urge  upon 
your  consideration  the  dignity  and  responsibilities  of  your 
position,  and  of  the  mission  in  life  which,  as  Cadets,  you 
are  called  upon  to  fulfil ;  but  the  labors  of  this  week  have 
left  me  unequal  to  the  occasion,  and  I  must  forego  that 
pleasure.  I  can  do  no  more  than  thank  you  for  the  gift 
of  such  emotions  as  fill  my  breast  upon  this  first  anniver- 
sary of  your  society.  As  your  officer,  your  professor, 
and  your  friend,  no  less  than  as  the  founder  of  your  So- 
ciety, I  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  which  has  attended  your 
literary  efforts.  Take  courage  from  the  present  success, 
and  nerve  up  for  new  acquirements.  What  though  you 
have  not  the  Latin  and  the  Greek !  They  form  no  part 
of  Truth.  You  have  found  your  way  to  the  iEgean  and 
the  Euxine  in  an  English  packet.  Did  your  knowledge 
or  your  patriotism  suffer  that  Xenophon  or  Thucydides, 
Livy  or  Sallust,  was  not  the  Pilot?  In  no  wise.  There 
are  ample  means  within  your  reach  for  effecting  every 
object  proper  to  your  Society,  and  if  you  are  true  to 
yourselves,  your  institution  must  furnish  to  the  State, 
citizens  qualified  for  any  station,  whether  of  War  or 
Peace. 


George  Washington  F/owen 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

ESTABLISHED  By  THE 
FAMILY  OF 
COLONEL  FLOWERS 


